3 Steps to take your paintings to the next level.

Seattle in the Morning, 22x30  $1650.00

This painting has been a threshold for me.  I have set some new goals for my work and I can see in this painting an attempt to stretch beyond what I have achieved so far.  The subject matter is new for me.  I'm trying to put together a collection of paintings for an upcoming show at the Inn at the 5th depicting Urban Street scenes.  The people are intriguing to me, they create such interesting shapes and the varied colors in their clothing create a confetti look.  This is especially pleasing against the large dark shape of the newsstand/coffee shop.  The design challenge was to create enough color and subtle structure inside that dark shape to allow it to "play nice" with the other elements in the composition and not become too dominant.  The buildings on the left will get more attention from me as I turn towards finishing this piece. 

Tips to take your art to the next level-

1.  Try new subject matter.  It requires fresh imagination and new techniques.

2.  Study with someone who's work you admire.  The learning process is filled with discovery and requires new disciplines.  Look for a regular teacher or take a workshop.

3.  Find a critique group.  Matisse said, "Creativity takes courage."  Join with artists who you trust both their professional opinions and their motives.  A healthy critique group can help you see hindrances to your work as well as celebrate a win with you.

Congrats!

Lavonne Tarbox Crone wins Best of Show at Watercolor Society of Oregon Conference.

  My favorite moment of conference was when we came to the gallery and found that Lavonne won this award.  She consistently  enters beautifully designed and executed paintings.  At the awards ceremony she received a standing ovation.  Yay Lavonne!!!

  

Joneile gets an Award of Distinction at Watercolor Society of Oregon.

   My second favorite moment was finding that I won an award as well!  It was such a great conference .  Linda Daley Baker was the Juror.  She was very strong on critique and gave us lots of great design information.  How great to be a part of this group.

The Great Pumpkin

Harvest- 15 x 22 Watercolor. $675.00

The weather is turning, the leaves are falling in my ponds, it's coming on to Fall.  I can hear the Peanuts music from The Great Pumpkin playing as I paint.

This still life was a blast to paint!  The creamy white highlights on the Turbin Squash play against the vibrant oranges and golds so traditional of the season.  The real drama is created by the super warm dark holes in the negative space around the produce.  Not truly black, this color is created by combining Perylene Maroon, Ultramarine Blue and a tiny amount of Mineral Violet.  What a lovely concoction!  Red creates depth in a painting and a few "hot holes" can make it seem as though you can reach right in there!  

To see this painting on display, come to the Pacific Rim Art Gallery, 160 E. Broadway, Eugene, Oregon. 

The show "Fall In Love With Oregon"will be featured at the First Friday Art Walk, October 3, from 5:30-8:00. See you there!

Not Enough Neon

Ivory Court Motel- Blue River, Oregon

You would think by now I would be pretty tired of neon.  The truth is- I don't think I will ever get tired of trying to recreate this advertising art form in watercolor.  I was driving down the Mc Kenzie River Highway, minding my own business, when I saw this sign in all it's rusty glory.  I stopped the car and began taking a reckless number of pictures right there on the side of the road.

Back in my studio I changed the sky from a bright blue to this overcast one.  After all, it's Oregon!

The biggest change was that I moved the top of the sign to the right so it's directly over the "M" in "motel".  This allowed me to make all the letters much bigger.  The power lines were made using watercolor pencils and a straight edge, and also a brush and paint for the wider lines.  Note how they fade out as they get to the bottom of the painting and finally retreat out of sight.  This creates an illusion of distance and perspective.

Boondoggling through a Painting

Are we there yet?

   How many times have you heard your kids ask that question?  Road trips and art-  they both provide the perfect opportunity to display impatience.  We have followed this image through three stages of its evolution from photograph to painting.  That's my current goal, to begin to see photographs as information for possible paintings, not paintings themselves.   I carry hundreds of images on my phone that I took because something caught my eye.  Was it the composition, the light, or the subject itself?  The danger ( and my oft repeated mistake) is to just reproduce the photo.  I jumped into painting this street scene without asking myself some critical questions about composition.  Our brains will accept and try to make sense of bad information in a photo, but not in a painting.  The branches of foreground trees looked like snakes in the painting, the street light coming from the left cut the painting in half, the street in the foreground was weak and didn't provide the depth of color to "ground" all those tall buildings.  Making all those changes has vastly improved this painting but it took twice as long as if I had recognized these compositional issues in the first place.

  I feel like I should know these things by now.  And I know my teacher is constantly amazed at how many ways I avoid immediate success.  Why must I always take the longest road possible to finally arrive at my destination?  Because boondoggling, or wandering around mindlessly, is characteristic of me in general.  I go to the store to get a gallon of milk and come back 45 minutes later with three bags of groceries and an old chair I bought at the second garage sale I stopped at!  

  The moral of this very long story?

 1.    Using the same brain you use in your every day life can be hazardous to your art!  

 2.    The shortest road to success in any painting is to follow the road map of good composition              before picking up a brush!

Who am I, anyway?

 This has been a busy summer!  I've had lots of opportunities to share and show my art.  

Good, but keeps me out of my studio more than I like.  It's always a delicate balance between producing art and promoting it.

   I'm finally beginning a new series of paintings that will depict urban street scenes.  This is the first painting and as you can see it's not done.  How do you know if a painting is done?  A good friend told me if you can identify problems in a painting, and you know how to fix them, you are not done.  I'm pretty good at fixing problems by now cuz I've made lots of mistakes!  It's identifying them in the first place that's tricky.  You can stare at a painting you are working on for hours and simply miss what's wrong.  That's where belonging to a good critique group comes in.  After seeking good counsel, these are the problems I've identified.

  This painting had some branches that were distracting because of the angle they were hanging, so I removed them.  The dark values were too strong, I muted them. There was a street light beam that cut thru the middle of the painting from the left in the trees.  That had to go!  Now I'm down to some issues with the cars and how dense the traffic is, and the way the street looks like it's falling straight down from the cross walk.  This creates an unsettling precipice effect.  A little stronger color in the foreground might be the pop this painting needs as well.  Much left to do.

   How does this relate to my identity as an artist?  I've worked on such varied subject matter- portraits of people and animals, still lifes, florals, botanicals, neon signs, landscapes, and now buildings...will there ever emerge something that defines my work?  I don't have the answer to that.  My watercolor teacher says- in the full bloom of an illustrious art career- that she doesn't think anyone can truly know that.  She says she doesn't even know that herself.   Maybe we will just discover what we love to paint!  And maybe knowing that will set us free to indulge ourselves in just painting what we love.  What would galleries look like if they were filled only with artist's most passionate subjects?

    I was recently challenged with this question,  "What makes you different than all the artists you know?  What makes your work stand out?"  Then I am supposed to make a list of qualities that make me different.  I'm still working on that list but it's a question we all need to ask ourselves.  Then, once you know some of the answers to that, how are you showing that uniqueness to people who view your web or blog site.  Deep, huh?  And you thought all I had in my head was colors :-)

4th of July at Pacific Rim

        Collaboration- July show at Pacific Rim Gallery

        Featuring Dan Chen, Sandi Grubbs and myself

All three of us painted this picture, taking turns to add our own touch.  It is amazing to see the three different styles blend into one painting.  Sandi does Chinese Brush, I do watercolor and Dan does a fusion of Chinese inks, watercolor, metallic powder and pastel that is truly dazzling.  There are three canvases like this, a triptych with one painting done by each of us individually but designed to be hung together, and one painting done by each one of us on our own.

Preparing for this show has been a rich experience for me.  Artists spend so much time alone.  It's refreshing to be with people who want to share their experience, their habits and disciplines -their lives. Thank you Sandi and Dan for the joy of creating together.

 If you are in the Eugene area and want to see the show, come to Pacific Rim Art Gallery,  on July 4th, 160 E. Broadway (in the basement of the old Quackenbush building.) The Art Walk begins at 5:30 and we are the next to the last stop.

Bloom- Inn at the 5th

A new gallery wall at the beautiful Inn at the 5th in Eugene is currently featuring my floral paintings!  

After the show at the Jacobs Gallery I was invited to display my work in this lovely space.  

This was originally a 20 piece show that helped kick off the annual Bloom celebration at the 5th Street Public Market.  Many of these paintings were done and ready for framing, but I had less than two weeks to pull this show together.  In the end I painted six new works and matted and framed sixteen paintings myself!  Needless to say I worked through the night many times that week.  Seeing all those paintings framed and hanging on the wall gave me a real sense of relief.  Hard work is necessary even in art, and I felt like this opportunity was a test to see if I would step up to the challenge of creating a show in this short time frame.  Thanks to Vistra framing gallery and my friend, Sandi who helped me hang all this work, it's up!

If you want to see this show, and you live in Eugene, go to the Inn at the 5th and ask at the front desk if they will open the Maple Room so you can see the art.  Their staff is some of the most gracious people I have worked with and they will walk you back there.

Rhythm- Jacobs Gallery show opens

This was such an amazing night.  The show was so beautifully done by Beverly Soasy, who is the gallery director.   The other two artists featured had really fabulous work on display and spoke so eloquently about what inspires their art.  Many friends and family came to congratulate me, including my watercolor teacher, Lavonne Tarbox Crone.  Without her none of this work would exist.  Everyone applauded when I introduced her.  She has truly enriched my life and I will be forever thankful to her.  Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me along the way.  I feel so blessed.

This show will be up till May 3.  Another reception will be held on the First Friday of April where we will be a stop on the Art Walk.  The gallery will be open 5:00-8:00 that evening.  Regular Jacobs Gallery hours: Tues- Friday 12-4,  Saturday 11-3

Out of My Hands

The neons have been delivered!  Finally, I took these paintings that I have worked on for almost two years and delivered them to the Jacobs Gallery.  The show is called Rhythm, and will feature my neon sign paintings in watercolor, as well as beautiful stone sculptures and some very impressive prints.  I'm really looking forward to seeing them all hanging in the gallery, framed and matted!   The show opens this Friday evening at 5:30.

 

There is more than one way to slay a dragon!  

The bottom picture is the original image.  When it was almost finished, I took it to be critiqued and we all felt the background was too strong in color.  After stripping out the intensity, the blue looks fresher, as though the dragon can finally breathe free.  Note the changes in the fire at the head of the dragon.  It is much clearer and we have strengthened the lines as well by changing some of the values.  Taking the bold chance of making such big changes so late in the painting is not for the faint of heart.  Yes you will solve the obvious problem, but what others will this change create?  I had decided that if I hated it I could always start over.  In the end, I was happy and called it DONE.  

Dog Portraits at the Creative Duck

 Today was so much fun doing a demo at the Duck Store on the U of O campus.  Lots of friends and family came as well as many new friends made as we shared our watercolor struggles and triumphs.  People from the audience even shared pictures of recent portrait projects they had on their phone.  It reminds me how powerful collaboration can be.  Courage is found  when we learn together.  I felt encouraged to try new things and learn new disciplines and I hope they did as well.  A big highlight was meeting the Riff family who came all the way from Sheridan to watch me finish the portrait behind me of their dog Mushu.  Thank you so much for coming and for letting me paint your precious dogs!  A big thank you to the Duck Store and Christopher for inviting me to come and helping me set up and tear down.  You made me feel so at home.

Slaying the Dragon

Jimmy Wong's Golden Dragon Restaurant-  San Diego

   Armed with only a brush and some watercolors, I'm attempting to slay a dragon.  It's been a valiant fight but I'm hopeful that I will get the best of him.  I may still have some changes to make.  I found this sign in the Hillcrest section of San Diego.  It's a piece of art itself- the dragon is only partially shown in the painting but the sign looks quite magnificent on the building.  

Since I'm trying to show the structure of the tubing and the mechanics of these signs, I cropped it closer- painting just the top of the sign.  I took many pics of this sign from all angles to record as much information as possible.  I settled on this angle because I wanted the viewer to feel as though they are standing at the base, hopefully feeling the size of the beast as he coils around the beautiful calligraphy of the Golden Dragon. 

    When to say when?  Finishing a painting like this and calling it done is tough.  Seeing the design choices you made before you ever put a brush to the paper- I'm always asking at this point, "Did I create the effect I was after? " I'm blessed to have truly professional art critics in my life who will help me decide when to put the brush down and walk away.

Snow days are for painting!

Got Malasadas?

   Snowed in?  In February!?!!?  What is this weather doing?  Since I can't drive on roads that are a sheet of ice, I better get some painting done.

   This neon is number 12 in my series for my upcoming show.  Leonard's is a favorite bakery in Oahu that makes a delicious disaster of a donut called a Malasada.  You eat them warm and they make you forget you had to buy a bigger bathing suit to come to Hawaii.  Best to paint the sign than to eat the goods!  This sign presented some interesting design options.  When cropping my photographs I had to decide what to cut and what to include.  I wanted the name, Leonard's, to be the focal point so it is the only complete word on the sign.  Arrows are tricky as they direct your eye the direction they point.  I liked the circular arrow pointing down towards the focal point, but I left out another that pointed right.

This is the sign I showed in process in a previous blog.  This can also be found on Oahu advertising the Like Like Drive In.  In the end I grew to love the warm color palate.  The little clear light bulbs were fun to paint.  What makes something look clear?  Reflected light!

How can you resist this face?

   Loki is such a beautiful dog and the reason I love painting pet portraits.  I met his owner on a plane and like any good "father", he was carrying pictures of his "hairy son" on his phone.  As we began swapping pictures of our dogs, I knew I would be painting Loki's sweet face.  This portrait almost painted itself.  It's done in watercolor on 1/2 sheet of Arches  140 lb. paper.  It was important to capture the light coming through his eyes  and the softness of his fur.

This is Coal.  He is a Pekinese that belongs to a close friend of mine.  Though he is little he is fierce and he reminds me of a little lion.  I exaggerated his fur and let it drip down so it looks like mane.  He doesn't roar but he looks quite regal with his long flowing locks! 

Remember to get ready for Valentines day by ordering a pet portrait .   Call me at 541-206-2677 and we can get something started  using pictures off your iPhone,   

Neon Daydreams - ruminations on painting the Lou and Ev's Chicken sign

  Even posting this photo of one of my most recent neon paintings for the Jacobs Gallery show floods me with childhood memories.  My dad worked hard at several manual labor jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food in the fridge.  When he wanted to treat us to dinner out, one of his favorite restaurants was Lou and Ev's.  They served the best fried chicken dinner in town.  Looking at this sign I can almost see the checkered tablecloths and smell the aroma of fresh baked chicken!  This was a sign that turned heads too.  The colorful neon, the giant chicken holding its platter high in the sky-  always made me turn to stare at it as we went down the road.  When starting this neon series I longed to find a picture of it and to my delight, found it fully restored and hanging inside a local restaurant as decor!  What a thrill to paint this.  I'm hoping it will be as much fun for people to see in my show as it was to paint.  It's a full sheet watercolor (22x30) painted on Arches 140lb. Paper.

  

   Still working on this one- almost time to switch gears from painting to framing.  Phew, this series is more work than I thought it would be.  This sign is on Oahu and is a subtle tangle of tubing, reflections and highlights.  I'm hoping to make the glass light bulbs a point of interest when it's all said and done.  There may be a late nite painting session in my near future. 

    I've been reading art biz blogs lately in my quest to become a full time artist and they all say the same thing-  making a living selling art is hard work.  My dad used to tell me anything worthwhile is worth working for.  He certainly lived those words and even though he's gone, I still hear his words in my head when I think I'm too tired to try anymore.  All the successful artists I know worked for years to develop their skills and their influence over many years.  Our best days are ahead of us.  We can write our own story by painting what we love and not forgetting that it's not called "artwork" for nothing.  Do you smell fried chicken?

New Website- joneileemery.com

  May is rushing up to meet me.  That's the month my show opens at the Jacob's Gallery in Eugene, Oregon.  As you could guess, I'm beginning to feel the pressure of matting, framing and completing all those paintings.  It's all about the vintage neon signs I've been so fascinated with.  I've been pursuing this theme for over a year and even though they are so technical in nature, I have not become too tired of them-  I still get excited when I find a new prospect to paint.  I'm currently painting some signs found right here in Eugene.  I'm hoping that will generate some hometown excitement for the show.

   Part of being ready for this is having good contact info and that means I needed to create a website that shows my work in easy to browse categories.   I built this site with a company called Fine Art Studios Online or FASO.com.  Check out all my work by clicking on the link , joneileemery.com 

   I'm doing two demos in January, both on Thursday!  One will be for an art group in Junction City, and the other will be for the art guild I belong to- Pacific Rim Art Guild in Eugene.  I'm looking forward to celebrating the unique things watercolor can do with both groups of artists.  That's the best part of collaborating together.  We get to share what we feel passionate about and encourage others to pursue theirs!  Everyone has something they know how to do.  What's your passion?  Find someone you can encourage.  How refreshing to have somebody say to you, "You could do this.  I want to see what you will do."  Be the one to blow wind into someone else's sails and watch them succeed!